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Monday, September 9, 2013

Guest Post: "Who let Doc in the kitchen?"

Welcome to the first installment of (hopefully) my monthly guest posts... "Who let Doc in the kitchen?". Today we'll be starting with a classic recipe in an ode to my dad. You may be asking yourself, "By classic, you really mean easy right?". Yes. Yes I do. But it also means absolutely delicious and I could eat it every day.

History of today's dish:

Being from Nebraska, I sometimes feel like I am a lone representative of my state to the outside world. And it's not far from being true, after all the entire population of Nebraska makes up only 0.59% of the US. Or, put another way, for every 1000 Americans you meet, odds are that only 6 will be from Nebraska. So it falls on me to answer burning questions from all over the world about our culture, our habits, and our good old fashioned sensibilities. Some common questions I field:

"Do you have cars in Nebraska?" *sigh* Yes.

"When did you get electricity?" *sigh* Before my parents were born.

"Who comes from Nebraska?" I do, apparently.

And one thing that Nebraskans know is corn. One of the very best things that you can do with corn?

Popcorn. My dad may not have cooked many dishes, but he could make a pot of popcorn with the best of them. He would make a big bowl of popcorn just about every night, and we would flock with our small bowls for a fill-up. It was a part of life and of growing up, and even though I've now been in charge of my own popcorn for years, it never tastes quite as good as when my dad would pop it.

But this leads me to a surprising fact for all of you Nebraskans out there - most people

do not know how to pop popcorn on a stove. In fact, almost all of my numerous roommates throughout the years chalked up my stovetop popcorn popping as one of my (many) eccentricities. But fear not! Popping your own popcorn is not only easy, but it's delicious and cost-effective. Plus, there's no simpler way to add those finishing touches that only you like. So let's pop some popcorn.

Recipe: Stovetop Popcorn

Gear:

1 Stove

1 large pot with lid (preferably heavy duty)

Foodstuffs:

1 Tablespoon of cooking oil (I'm fancy and use olive oil, but there's no wrong answer)